


Stay with me?

by UpInOrbit



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Kinda, M/M, Pre-Relationship, its all about the yearning, long distance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 07:33:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29398422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UpInOrbit/pseuds/UpInOrbit
Summary: Wonwoo thought he'd be fine not seeing Jun as regularly as before. Turns out, he was wrong.
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Wen Jun Hui | Jun
Comments: 3
Kudos: 41





	Stay with me?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cherrycitrus_blossom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrycitrus_blossom/gifts).



> HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATH!!!! I hope you have a wonderful day today my friend, because that's what you deserve <33 You're one of the loveliest, bestest, most caring people I've ever met, and I consider myself lucky to be able to call me your friend. I hope you'll enjoy this fic and that you get showered with as much love as you deserve, I love you!! <333
> 
> This fic a little over the place, but I hope it's something you guys can enjoy ^^  
> (Fair warning though, my brain has given up on me halfway through the exams and I'm a half-functional human being as we speak so I just hope this is readable and enjoyable, please don't mind any typos, I tried my best to go over it and correct them but I no longer know English jsjsjsjs)

“You should go,” Wonwoo said for what felt like the hundredth time that night.

There was a crick in his neck, his back ached and his vision was getting slightly blurry around the edges, but still, the smile came easy to his lips when he saw Jun shake his head, hair flopping into his eyes, his cheek squished against his stretched arm.

“I’m fine,” he replied, his words slurred. Wonwoo huffed, amused.

“You’re almost asleep, Jun,” he said.

“Keyword being _almost_ , Wonwoo,” Jun’s eyes remained closed as he replied, his voice dropping in volume. “You won’t get rid of me so easily. I promised I’d stay until you finished and I will.”

Even as he spoke, Jun barely lifted his head from his desk. The only light in his room came from a lamp that was outside the camera’s vision, and that left most of Jun’s room in darkness.

Shaking his head in fondness, Wonwoo leaned his chin against his left hand, the right still wrapped around his pen, which he brought up to his lips.

“You don’t have to stay, Jun,” nibbling on the top of the pen, he tried to convince his friend, even if he knew it was like talking to a wall of bricks. “You’ve kept me company for most of the evening, which is more than you needed to, you can leave now.”

At that, Jun finally lifted his head, glaring at Wonwoo through the camera. It made Wonwoo’s smile widen, to see Jun, his hair sticking in every direction possible, stare at him like he’d personally go to his house to fight him.

“I’m not leaving until you do, and that’s final,” he said, his expression holding no room for argument.

Sighing to himself, Wonwoo nodded, before falling back on his chair. Every muscle in his back groaned with the movement, after being locked in the same position for hours, hunched over his notes.

Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, he ran one of his hands through his hair, and nodded to himself.

“And if I leave now? Will you go to sleep?”

Jun stretched, moving almost like a cat.

“Will you keep working? Because I’ll only leave if you are done or if you promise me you’ll take a break. If not, I’m staying, I’m not even that tired,” he continued, as if Wonwoo couldn’t see him yawning behind his hand.

“You’re so full of bullshit,” he merely replied, unable to stop himself from grinning, fondness bubbling in his veins.

“Like you’re one to talk,” Jun rolled his eyes in reply before smiling too. “And well, what will it be?” He asked, leaning expectantly towards the camera, taking up most of Wonwoo’s screen.

Feeling the back of his neck warm up, Wonwoo averted his eyes, caught sight of the red digits on the clock he kept on his nightstand: 00:38. Not the latest he’d ever been up studying, but definitely much later than he’d ever planned on keeping Jun up.

Shaking his head, he took off his glasses and put them away. Jun’s lips stretched into a wide smile.

“Finally! He sleeps!” He whisper-shouted, dramatically punching the air in mock victory. 

“Yeah, yeah, you did it, you convinced me to stop for the day,” Wonwoo replied, clicking his tongue as if he were annoyed.

It was for nothing, though, as Wonwoo found himself unable to stop a grin from playing at his lips, endeared as he was at Jun’s antics. His friend right then whipped his head to stare at Wonwoo, eyes narrowing into thin slits.

“You bet I did, and if I find out you continued after we hang up, I _will_ physically fight you, got it?”

A small chuckle escaping his lips, Wonwoo looked away from the camera, eyes focusing on a spot behind the computer. Lifting his arms high above his head, he stretched, feeling more like a cat than a person, before he shook his head and focused back on Jun.

“Clear as day. Don’t worry, I promise I’ll be good,” he replied, gingerly placing his hand on top of his chest.

“You better,” Jun threatened, still staring at him through narrowed eyes.

Wonwoo just clicked his tongue, rolling his eyes for good measure.

“Now, I’m going to bed and you should too. We both know how _not_ functional you are when you don’t get your beauty sleep.”

Fighting back a yawn, Jun moved to lean against the back of his chair, moving away from the beam of light, half his face disappearing into darkness.

“I’d be offended by that if it wasn’t so true,” Jun replied, his words barely discernible as his mouth stretched open, sleep winning over his resolve to stay awake.

Still, he didn’t make a move to turn off the camera or end the call, and Wonwoo knew he’d have to take it upon himself to do it, before Jun fell asleep right there and then, head pillowed on top of his stretched arm.

“Thanks again for keeping me company,” he said, earning himself a sleepy hum and a half-hearted attempt at a thumbs up. “I’m going to end the call now so get up and go to bed before you fall asleep,” Jun nodded, his eyes closed. Wonwoo huffed. “Don’t you even think about complaining to me tomorrow if your neck hurts, I warned you already so it’s all on you.”

Sighing, Jun lifted his head, stared at Wonwoo through half-narrowed eyes, and nodded tiredly once again.

“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” Jun’s next words got lost as he yawned, and Wonwoo smiled to himself.

“Goodnight Jun, talk to you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight Wonwoo,” Jun replied, giving him a small finger heart, right before Wonwoo ended the call.

The image disappeared, replaced by a darkened screen that stared back at Wonwoo through his reflection’s eyes. Biting his bottom lip, Wonwoo hovered hesitantly before finally extending his arm and closing the computer.

Rolling his shoulders, he sighed, the fingers of his right hand coming to toy with the wristbands he wore on his left.

“Time to go to bed, Wonwoo,” he chastised himself as he forced his limbs to move, pushing his body off the chair.

Almost on autopilot, he picked up all the books and notes he had spread all over the table, his hands working through the familiar motions as he tried to push away from his face the memory of an arm thrown over his shoulders, a warm body pressed against his as he struggled to move under the extra weight.

Still, the touch of phantom hands on his cheek lingered, branded on his skin, too heavy to ignore.

***

“I miss you,” Jun’s sudden words caught Wonwoo by surprise. 

Blinking, he looked up, found Jun already staring at him. He had his pen delicately placed between his lips, and Wonwoo knew without having to see that it’d have faint teeth marks all over it (he always complained it was a disgusting habit, who knew what kind of disease the pen might carry, but Jun had always laughed his concerns away and, much to Wonwoo’s dismay, he had grown fond of Jun’s habit). His eyes were serious, more so than they’d been for the past hour and a half they’d been on the video call.

It was enough for Wonwoo to tilt his head to the side, puzzled, his lips sketching a nervous smile.

“We talk every day,” he pointed out. 

Jun shook his head, overgrown fringe falling into his eyes until he blew it away.

“It’s not the same, Wonwoo. I miss going out with you and seeing you in person and, I don’t know, basically everything, I guess,” Jun replied, voice turning wistful.

Wonwoo looked away from the screen, fingers tapping an absentminded rhythm on the table. He hadn’t allowed himself to dwell on it, hadn’t even allowed himself to spare it so much as a thought but to have Jun spell it out loud, so clear…

“I do too,” the words slipped through his lips before he could reign them in, and Jun sat up, equally surprised and confused. “Miss you too, I mean,” Wonwoo clarified, feeling his cheeks turning pink. “I really do,” he added, voice quieter then it had been before, almost a whisper that he doubted the microphone had picked up.

Jun sat up straighter than before, though, and Wonwoo watched as the confusion melted away, replaced by a surprise that soon turned into open delight, a bright smile extending through Jun’s face, lighting up his eyes.

He left the pen on the table beside him, as Wonwoo followed the movement with his eyes, suddenly too self-conscious to look at his friend.

“You do?” Jun asked, placing his chin in his hands, staring directly at Wonwoo, a mischievous tilt to his smile. “Tell me more.”

Wonwoo rolled his eyes with a snort.

“Of course I do, you’re my friend,” he replied, ignoring the dryness of his throat, the ashy aftertaste in his mouth.

“I know, but I thought you might be glad to have more space to yourself, you know. I’m aware I can be a little bit too much, too close for comfort, maybe,” his words were light, but Wonwoo knew his friend well enough to pick up on the slight hesitance, the barest sliver of truth that wasn’t concealed by Jun’s bright façade.

He wanted to tell Jun he was wrong but, as much as Wonwoo knew Jun, so did Jun know him.

“Maybe, but if you bothered me, you’d know,” he replied, with as much honesty as he could muster. A weight lifted from his shoulder when he saw the clouds in Jun’s expression disappear, and he let relief sink in, before adding, “if you thought you might annoy me, why do it, though?”

“I didn’t do it when I thought it might annoy you,” was Jun’s answer.

Wonwoo smiled.

“Exactly,” he said. “Nothing you could do could possibly annoy me, Jun, trust me,” he continued, his words bringing a shy smile to Jun’s lips.

Another admission struggled to make its way up Wonwoo’s throat, reach the outside world, but Wonwoo swallowed it down, locked it under seven keys. That one was between him and his heart, only to be whispered when he was alone, in the rare moments he allowed himself to miss what he couldn’t have.

Instead, they stayed liked that, silence stretching between them, comfortable as it only ever was between them, until Jun’s eyes fell to Wonwoo’s left wrist, his expression softening when he realized what he was wearing.

“Is that my bracelet?” He asked, leaning forward to the screen to try and see it better.

It was on a reflex that his right hand came to cover his wrist for a brief moment, shielding it from view, before he forced himself to put down his hand and instead bring his wrist closer to the camera for Jun to inspect it.

“It is,” he replied after a beat, quickly shoving his hands onto his lap, as inconspicuously as he possibly could. 

Jun didn’t seem to notice anything amiss, just leaned back in his chair, faintly amused.

“I always meant to ask you if you had it, but I always forgot to do it.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Wonwoo rubbed the back of his neck as he answered. “You gave it to me the last time we saw each other because you didn’t want it to get wet and then I forgot to give it back.”

It wasn’t a lie, not really. He _had_ kept the bracelet, when Jun had given it to him for safekeeping, and then forgot to give it back but in between… He’d had many chances to give it back but hadn’t, for some reason.

Wonwoo shoved the thought to the back of his head, where the rest of things he didn’t want to think about were kept, away from prying eyes.

“I’ll give it back to you when we see each other again,” he promised, fingers coming to play with the thin bracelet as he spoke.

“There’s no rush,” Jun replied, kindly smiling. “Keep it for as long as you want.”

***

“Don’t laugh at me,” was the first thing Wonwoo said when Minghao picked up his call.

“I’ll…, try my best but that isn’t the best opening, you know?” Minghao replied, his tone carefully neutral. Wonwoo sighed.

“I know, trust me, but I need help and I don’t know who to ask. I also already know it’s dumb, so _please_ don’t tell me that.”

“Okay…”

“So. How do you know you’re in love with someone and not just really missing human contact and mistaking that for love?” Wonwoo asked, his words spilling from his lips in an avalanche. As he spoke, he couldn’t help but inwardly cringe, already picturing Minghao’s expression, the faint annoyance he’d try to conceal for his sake. 

He couldn’t blame him, not when that was his own reaction.

“Wonwoo…”

“I know, I know,” Wonwoo cut him, slumping against his chair. “But I’m serious, Minghao.”

“Well then, I guess there’s an easy way to figure it out. Do you miss me hugging you, for example?” Minghao asked, his voice sounding almost bored.

Wonwoo didn't mind it, aware it was more for his own benefit than due to Minghao’s indifference, and he silently thanked him for it.

He thought about it, thought about fleeting touches and shoulders bumping, a hand splayed on his neck, an arm stretched across his shoulders. Fingers running through his hair, slotted between his, phantom hands supporting him when he was about to fall.

There was only ever one person those belonged to.

“Not really, no,” he admitted, his voice trembling, hoarse, as if he had just round a marathon and had still to catch his breath. “No offence,” he added after a heartbeat of silence.

“None taken,” Minghao replied with a low chuckle. “But Wonwoo? I think you have there your answer.”

***

Wonwoo breathes in, the cold air filling in his lungs. He holds his breath for a heartbeat, two, before releasing it, his hands buried deep in his pockets.

He’s distracted, so lost in his own world that he doesn’t notice his name being called, only to be suddenly brought to down to Earth when a warm body collides against his. Arms snake around his middle, a chin hooked on top of his shoulder and Wonwoo freezes for a moment before he relaxes, melting into the body behind him.

He’s not sure what exactly gives him away, might be the way Wonwoo is used to how he smells, or the way he’s memorized the feeling of his body as he leans against Wonwoo’s, but he doesn’t even jump when Jun leans forward, lips brushing the shell of his ear.

“Surprised?” He asks, softly squeezing Wonwoo.

Tilting his head to the side, Wonwoo tries to suppress a smile, fails spectacularly. 

“Not really,” he replies, turning around to face Jun.

Releasing his grip on Wonwo’s waist, Jun allows him to move, but doesn’t budge, staying where he is even as Wonwoo turns. 

For some reason, Wonwoo had always thought that, when he was finally able to meet with Jun again, he’d have a lot to say but, right then, finally standing in front of him after all those months, he finds he doesn’t. Everything he’s wanted to say, he’s already said, at least most of it, and there is only ever one thing he really wants to do.

The whole world fades into nothingness as Wonwoo stares at Jun, his whole attention focused on him. Without saying as much as a word, Wonwoo takes a step forward, bridging the distance between them. His arms come to rest on top of Jun’s shoulders, and he brings him closer, close enough to smell him, close enough for Wonwoo to bury his head in Jun’s neck.

It is clear he’s taken Jun by surprise, his hands hovering hesitantly above Wonwoo’s back before he finally wraps them around Wonwoo.

“You really missed me, huh?” He chuckles softly, the smile audible in his voice.

“I already told you I did,” Wonwoo scowls. 

Jun lets out a laugh at that, but says nothing else. He doesn’t mention the way Wonwoo clings to him, his fingers clutching Jun’s shirt so tightly they’re starting to ache, and instead holds him until Wonwoo finally loosens his grip on Jun, feeling like he’s finally able to breathe normally again.

“You’re still wearing my bracelet,” Jun points out after a couple of seconds, his words soft.

Wonwoo follows his line of sight, nervously tugs at the thin strip of cloth.

“I do, sorry,” he replies. “Here,” he adds, as he tries to take it off.

“No, no,” Jun rushes to say, fingers splayed on Wonwoo’s wrist. “Keep it. It looks better on you anyway.”

“Are you sure?” Wonwoo asks, fingers still loosely hooked under the bracelet.

“Of course. Keep it, I mean it,” Jun replies, his eyes honest. 

Slowly, Wonwoo lets his hand drop to his side, but Jun keeps his where it is, his eyes boring into Wonwoo’s. Wonwoo holds his gaze, and, after an instant of brief hesitation, Jun moves his hand, fingers sliding from his wrist down his palm, until his fingers are between Wonwoo’s, loosely holding his hand.

“Want to leave?” He asks. His tone is light, cheerful even, but Wonwoo recognizes in his eyes the same hesitance he himself has become so familiar with. 

It makes him relax, for some reason, and gives him the bravery to gently squeeze Jun’s hand.

“With you? Always. Just lead the way,” he replies, heart fluttering in his ribcage when Jun’s eyes lit up, a genuine smile on his lips.

***

(“Can I tell you something?”

“Of course.”

“I didn’t really forget to give you your bracelet back. I just really didn’t want to take it off.”

Jun laughs, lips brushing a kiss to Wonwoo’s temple.

“I really hoped that was the case.”)

**Author's Note:**

> I just really hope you enjoyed this little story. In case you were wondering about the ambiguous setting, this started inspired by the fact that I miss my friends and human contact due to the pandemic but then I left it purposefully ambiguous because I thought it might be too much pandemic for us so, you can headcanon this as whatever you want, studying abroad for example, or whatever you prefer <3  
> This is all from me, I really hope you've enjoyed this!!  
> And once again, happy birthday Kath, ilyyyyy  
> Comments and kudos warm my heart <3  
> [tw](https://twitter.com/starryjinsouls) || [cc](https://curiouscat.me/Val_99)
> 
> \- Val


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